1. Field
The present invention relates to a mechanical fuse to seal pipes upon unintended rupture.
2. Background
Automobiles utilize hoses or pipes to carry a variety of fluids (e.g., fuels) to power their engines. However, when an automobile is an accident, the pipe could rupture spilling the fuel into an external environment. This could be problematic because the fuel is explosive, can be detrimental to the environment, could contain harmful vapors to passengers in the automobile, rescue workers, or bystanders, and furthermore could be extremely difficult to detect. This may be particularly true in vehicles which utilize gaseous fuels to power the engine, since gaseous fuels may be hard to detect as they may be clear and/or odorless.
In an accident, however, the passengers are often injured and every second could be critical to the safety of the passengers or the reduction of harm done to the passengers. In the accident, rescue workers could be hampered by the fear and necessity to extend extra precautions to prevent the rupture of the pipe to prevent the fuel from escaping or observe that the pipe has already ruptured and that fuel is escaping. Furthermore, the rescue workers could also be afraid of intentionally rupturing the pipe even when rupturing the pipe would reduce the amount of time necessary to rescue the passengers since the fuel would escape from the automobile.
While electronic sensors may be used to detect the rupture of the pipe in the automobile, electronic sensors may not always be accurate and furthermore may fail during the accident since electrical connections could be damaged.
Thus, there is a need for a reliable fuse which can function without electricity to prevent fuel from escaping into the environment when the pipe has been ruptured.